Rise and Fall of Vajpayee Government

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The National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, was originally formed in 1998. It again came to power in 1999 and remained in office at the Centre till May 13, 2004. Following the defeat of the NDA at the Lok Sabha elections, a new Congress-led United Progressive Alliance has come to power with the eminent economist, Dr. Manmohan Singh, as the Prime Minister.

The Vajpayee government took some bold strides after assuming office. Its governance was marked by emphasis on the nation's development and security. Its policy of liberalisation and disinvestment and privatisation, and promotion of Information Technology, gave a boost to the economy and Indians started feeling like active partners in a globalised set-up.

The success of the Kargil confrontation with Pakistan and the nuclear initiative brought laurels for the government.

But the Vajpayee government had its own flaws and weaknesses. According to the author, the NDA government communalised the polity and sought to destroy the social fabric of the country. Farmers were neglected. Women were marginalised and huge unemployment alienated the youth.

The many scams, particularly in the Defence sector, alleged corruption in certain deals connected with the disinvestment and privatisation process and, to a great extent, the ghastly Gujarat riots, brought bad name to the Vajpayee government leading to its ultimate collapse.

This book traces the different stages of the Vajpayee government and should be read by all those interested in statecraft and governance.

O.P. GUPTA (b. 1948) has since 1982, been a political activist. He obtained his M.Phil. degree in 1982 from Dr. B.R. Ambedkar University, Agra. He has attended a number of national and international seminars and conferences at which he presented papers on aspects of Indian politics.

NDA was first formed in 1998 and again came to power in 1999 under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee. NDA is an alliance involving various national and regional political parties led by the BJP to form the government. The NDA had promised to end political instability created between 1991 and 1999 and that it did under an able leadership. It's common manifesto in the 1999 elections was called, 'An Agenda for a Proud, Prosperous India'. NDA defines its vision as 'India as a developed nation.

The political parties currently a part of NDA are- Bharatiya Janata Party, Samata Party, Shiv Sena, Biju Janata Dal (BJD), DMK, Telegu Desam Party (TDP), Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), Lok Shakti Marumalarchi Deravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), Akali Dal Arunanchal Congress (AC), Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), Jantrantrik Bahujan Samaj Party, Loktrantik Congress.

In 1999 Vajpayee Government come in centre with its alliances and work upto 13 May 2004. On 13 May 2004 Vajpayee has resigned from his post due to failure of his Government in Lok Sabha Elections of 2004. In the time span of 5 years, Vajpayee Government has achieved tremendous success in various sectors. Vajpayee Government has lost Lok Sabha Elections -2004 due to its negligence in some of the major sectors.

**Contents and Sample Pages**